Big Day Out

Sunday January 18, Parklands Showgrounds, Gold Coast

NEIL Young, Arctic Monkeys, The Living End, Cut Copy and The Prodigy lead the line-up for the 2009 Big Day Out.

System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian and UK dance wizards Hot Chip have also been announced along with overseas acts Black Kids, Lupe Fiasco, Dropkick Murphys, Holy Ghost and Z*Trip have also been named for the national tour, which lands at Parklands Showground on January 18.

Children Collide, Died Pretty, Little Red, Sparkadia, The Drones, The Vines, Mercy Arms, Mammal, Peewee Ferris, Ajax, Andee Frost, Infusion and The Getaway Plan represent the Australian contingent.

For a dose of local sounds, check out Gold Coast bands The Cool Calm Collective, Enacio and Misdirection who will join the winner of Triple J's Unearthed competition, Brisbane act Kate Bradley and The Goodbye Horses.

Fellow Queensland artists Adelle, A Flower For Lily, DNO, The Gin Club, Andrew Morris, Mr Laneous, Hutch n Kleenkutt and Matt Kitshon line up for the Gold Coast leg of the festival.

Tickets are $132. Punters can check www.bigdayout.com for details on last minute ticket releases.

2008 Gold Coast Big Day Out concert photo gallery

Video report on the 2008 Gold Coast Big Day Out

Book your Gold Coast accommodation for BDO now

More of What's On at the Gold Coast

Good Vibrations

Saturday, February 21, Parklands Showgrounds

THE Good Vibrations concert is back where it belongs on the Gold Coast for 2009.

After a controversial debut in February 2007 at Doug Jennings Park on The Spit, Gold Coast City Council banished Good Vibrations and concertgoers were forced to go to Brisbane.

However, the concert returns to the Gold Coast in 2009 and will be held at Parklands Showgrounds Saturday 21 February.

The Parklands Showground is a major concert venue and is home to the annual Big Day Out concert on the Gold Coast.

Headliners include party DJ Fatboy Slim, live hip-hop band The Roots and Aussie stars The Presets.

In the Good Vibrations locals mix are electro-pop four-piece Elke, Giv, James Canning, Raye Antonelli and The Stafford Brothers, electro act Panther DLX and Vibes veterans The Winnie Coopers.

The concert will be hosted by your master of ceremonies Supernatural.

http://www.goodvibrationsfestival.com.au/

The East Coast Blues and Roots Festival

Easter weekend, April 9-13, 2009, Belongil Fields

BLUESFEST marks its 20th anniversary in 2009 with one of the best line-ups to date.

Some of the biggest names in the business have already signed up to mark the musical milestone, including Ben Harper, John Butler Trio, Missy Higgins and Michael Franti & Spearhead.

The annual five-day Easter event routinely draws some of the world's finest blues and alternative musicians, with a fervent crowd braving the sometime rainy conditions to pay tribute.

The 2009 festival will be staged at Belongil Fields, two kilometres west of Byron Bay or about an hour's drive south of the Gold Coast. Book your Byron Bay accommodation early to avoid sleeping in your car.

Bluesfest has been officially recognised for its environment credentials with a prestigious Greener Festival Awards gong, joining the likes of the famous Cambridge Folk Festival and Glastonbury Festival in the UK.

Tickets from $130.

http://www.bluesfest.com.au

Check out our Bluesfest '08 photo gallery

V Festival

Sunday, March 29, 2009, Avica Resort, Merrimac

AS Vegas band The Killers have been announced as the headline drawcard for next year's V Festival.

Held across Australia, this is the third year for the ever- growing V Fest, with the Gold Coast gig to be held on Sunday, March 29, 2009 at the Avica Resort at Merrimac.

The Virgin event seems to be shooting for a slightly older demographic than the BDO, building a more relaxed pace into its program and digging up an eclectic line-up of current and past alterna-faves.

Other big international acts making their way to our shores include Grammy-Award nominated Snow Patrol, English quintet the Kaiser Chiefs, veteran UK band Elbow and Welsh pop singer Duffy.

They will also be joined by Louis XIV, Tame Impala, The Temper Trap and Canyons. And to the smaller Aussie bands out there, Virgin Mobile's Garage to V will scour the country searching for the best new Australian talent and will be bringing along a bunch of extra musicians to help make V Festival even better.

Tickets are on sale at $139.90.

www.vfestival.com.au

V Festival 2008 photo gallery

Blues on Broadbeach

May 28-31, 2009, various venues in Broadbeach

Blues on Broadbeach is held each year in May and encompasses four days of live performances across a host of venues around the festival precinct in Broadbeach, Gold Coast.

More than 200,000 people have enjoyed a sprinkling of international imports mixed with the cream of Australia's blues talent since the festival's inception in 2002.

Outdoor concert stages in Kurrawa Park, Broadbeach Mall and Surf Parade are the focal points, with loads of cafes and bars along the strip hosting sideshows - and it's all free!

Book your Broadbeach accommodation now

http://www.bluesonbroadbeach.com

Splendour in the Grass

Splendour in the Grass is an ever-growing concert weekend at Byron Bay that attracts huge crowds and great bands. But book your accommodation early.

This two-day camping festival has, since beginning in 2001, grown from a boutique event to a major international draw.

Each year Byron Bay's Belongil Fields are transformed into a temporary community of like-minded music lovers, gathered together to sample the best emerging and established musicians from Australia and around the world.

Less than 20,000 tickets are issued each year, which only adds to the event's allure.

For 2009, the Byron Shire Council had granted festival organisers approval to hold a trial event at Yelgun, to the north of Byron Bay.

Dates and ticket prices for 2009 are yet to be confirmed.

So be sure to book your accommodation at Byron Bay in advance

http://www.splendourinthegrass.com/

Summafieldayze

Saturday, January 3, 2009 Doug Jennings Park at The Spit

DANCE music festival Summafieldayze opened 2009 with a bang as 30,000 revellers partied to some of the world's best-known DJs at Doug Jennings Park at The Spit.

Despite morning rain and an overcast sky, the seventh annual festival was declared a success with festival-goers happily trudging from state to stage in gum boots, thongs or bare feet.

Among them was American socialite Paris Hilton, who partied in the mud with sister Nicky and gal pal Brittany Flickinger.

The festival was headlined by DJs Armin Van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Adam Freeland and Steve Aoki as well as Underworld and Digitalism.

Gold Coast-based Stafford Brothers were one of the big crowd-pleasers, with the trumpet player getting up on one of the speakers for his solo, much to the delight of punters.

Photo gallery: Summafieldayze '09

Photo gallery: Summafieldayze '08